Edited on: October 31, 2025

Posted on: October 17, 2022

ssling

Games: 746 Reviews: 23

Grab 'n' Smash

Ape Out is a very simplistic but quite engaging game about a gorilla on the run. The gameplay is bare-bones but works well if you like Hotline Miami-style fast-paced mayhem. It's only a couple of hours long, which is probably for the better because it ends before becoming tiresome; yet still, it does what it can to keep things reasonably fresh, mainly by introducing new enemy types and unique flavors to some levels (like darkness, snipers outside, or falling bombs). Although our gorilla has only two moves - smashing and grabbing - it allows for some degree of more sophisticated tactics because grabbed enemies can be used as shields, throwable missiles (some of them will even explode), as well as briefly firing their weapon forward after being grabbed. It might be frustrating at times (mostly due to the random nature of levels), but for me, dying was motivating to try again rather than rage quit, which is a good thing. I think it's easier and more forgiving than Hotline Miami, but for those seeking a bigger challenge, there are unlockable Hard and Arcade modes. With regard to audiovisuals, Ape Out is very artistically driven and seamlessly uses its style to achieve clever effects. The graphical presentation is simple but very stylish and mostly clearly readable (only in certain levels did I have some trouble seeing things). I also like how, despite its top-down perspective, the game emulates the gorilla's actual field of view. The soundtrack features only a drum kit and has this gimmick of dynamically reacting when our gorilla is going apeshit. When watching a gameplay video, I thought it would be annoying, but while playing, it didn't bother me at all and worked well with the flow of the game, adding even more punch to destroying the opponents. Overall, it kinda reminds me of those higher-quality Flash games you would play on the Web circa 2005. Worth buying with a hefty discount.

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Posted on: June 29, 2023

Storyweaver3xxx

Verified owner

Games: 179 Reviews: 1

Fun, But Flops the Landing

Ape Out is a good game that left a sour taste in my mouth, so I decided to drop it. Best played on a controller for the fluid maneuverability, the frenetic soundtrack and visceral CRUNCH as you turn your captors into red paste makes Ape Out incredible to play in the moment. If this was all I had to base the game on, I would give it 5 stars. However, the final missions of the game at the shipping docks alter the difficulty to an un-fun degree. Whereas before I was tearing through skyscrapers and rampaging through terrorist-infested jungles, this shipping dock filled with highly-accurate, one-hit-kill enemies ground my joy to a halt. Instead of mowing through throngs of foolish humans, I had to turn to stealth tactics, AFEARED of those who I once smushed into gibblets. The soundtrack is still telling me to GO WILD but doing so only leads to death after frustrating death. The level layouts are also semi-random so there is no puzzle pattern to learn. It started to feel like my progress was based on the luck of what enemies I would run into more than skill. Ultimately, I decided it wasn't fun anymore, so I uninstalled without completing the final area. TLDR; A fun first three areas, then the game slips on a banana peel trying to increase the difficulty in the fourth.

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Posted on: June 17, 2021

Roshuboi777

Verified owner

Games: 54 Reviews: 1

An excelent and deep story

Ape Out its a simple game with simple mechanics but with all the background story of our Gorilla you probably would think that killing bad guys it is absolutely deserved. Cheap price, so if u have the option yo buy it, do it and enjoy it.

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Posted on: November 29, 2019

JaFischer

Verified owner

Games: Reviews: 1

a true piece of art

the synthesis of style, jazz and simple, yet challenging and very rewarding gameplay made this gem one of my favourite indie-games so far. love it!

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Posted on: May 15, 2022

Mjauv

Verified owner

Games: 1037 Reviews: 79

Groovy and stylish, simple yet tough

Ape Out doesn't have an official soundtrack but the ending theme is a real gem if you like jazz. This visually pleasing top down-brawler (or whatever you want to call it) puts you in the "shoes" of an escaping gorilla that has to plow through maze-like levels in order to find the exit. Your controls are limited to pulling/grabbing, shoving and, well, running. Humans armed with different firearms will try their best to stop you and you therefor have to eliminate anything standing in your way using brute force. You can either push your foes into hard objects (or each other) or, you can grab onto them, using the unfortunate enemy as a human shield before sending them hurling into the nearest wall. This has the added bonus of making the enemy involuntarely discharge their weapon in whatever direction you are heading, thus giving you ample opportunity to turn the pesky homo sapiens weapons against them and every kill is accentuated with drumstrokes in Ape Outs jazzy yet minimalistic soundtrack. The levels are randomized, thus making it impossible to remember a perfect route and during the later, more open levels, it really boils down to a mix of reflexes and luck whether or not you will beat said level or not. The game intentionally obfuscates your view so you usually won't see enemies around the corner before they spot you. You will die a lot in Ape Out and sadly, a lot of the times those deaths feels kinda cheap. This feeling is reinforced by dumb AI that sometimes get stuck and who usually doesn't care if they hit other enemies as well. This becomes especially frustrating during the final chapter (of four) where enemies armed with RPGs have no problem shooting you at point blank range with complete disregard to themselves. A dodge mechanic that lets you avoid at least some incoming shots would've made the game a lot less frustrating. Still, the visuals, style and music makes this a joy to play. I just wish we could have more tunes like the ending theme.

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